"hunky dory" meaning in English

See hunky dory in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /ˌhʌŋkiˈdɔːɹi/ [Received-Pronunciation] Audio: en-us-hunky-dory.ogg Forms: more hunky dory [comparative], most hunky dory [superlative]
enPR: hŭng'kidôʹri [Received-Pronunciation] Etymology: American English, 1860s. From hunky (“in good condition”, “safe and sound”) + dory (origin and meaning unknown). Head templates: {{en-adj}} hunky dory (comparative more hunky dory, superlative most hunky dory)
  1. (informal) Satisfactory, fine. Tags: informal Synonyms: alright, fine, tickety-boo, right as rain, hunky-dory, hunkydory, hunkidory, hunky dorey, hunky-dorey, hunkydorey
    Sense id: en-hunky_dory-en-adj-6DjloVgH Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries

Alternative forms

{
  "etymology_text": "American English, 1860s. From hunky (“in good condition”, “safe and sound”) + dory (origin and meaning unknown).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more hunky dory",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most hunky dory",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "hunky dory (comparative more hunky dory, superlative most hunky dory)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Now that I’ve found my missing book, everything’s hunky-dory again.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1880 January 6, Mrs. Frank McCarthy, “How Aunt Pam Became a Smuggler”, in Harper's Young People:",
          "text": "It was no easy job, I can tell you. We worked like beavers to get the cave the way we wanted it; but when it was done, it was what you may call hunky-dory.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1913 October, Jack London, The Valley of the Moon, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC:",
          "text": "But you just go on lovin' him, and leanin' on his judgement—he's no fool—and you'll be all hunky-dory.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1922, Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, →OCLC:",
          "text": "But you seem to be feeling all hunky-dory again, and why don’t you come join us in the Good Citizens’ League, old man?",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 September 29, Carl Zimmer, “A New Approach to Spotting Tumors: Look for Their Microbes”, in The New York Times:",
          "text": "“OK, it’s associated with a specific tumor type, but does that just mean that it’s living hunky-dory with the tumor, or is it actually causing the tumor to get bigger and progress?” Dr. Galloway-Peña asked. “You just don’t know at this point.”",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 May 28, James Tapper, quoting woman approaching middle age, “‘We should be closer to Europe’: Brexit regrets simmer in leave-voting Boston”, in The Observer, →ISSN:",
          "text": "“There’s always got to be a period of adjustment. You can’t expect everything to be hunky dory straight away. I don’t disagree with it [Brexit]^([sic]) but we need to get in charge and sweep out the political class.”",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Satisfactory, fine."
      ],
      "id": "en-hunky_dory-en-adj-6DjloVgH",
      "links": [
        [
          "Satisfactory",
          "satisfactory"
        ],
        [
          "fine",
          "fine"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal) Satisfactory, fine."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "alright"
        },
        {
          "word": "fine"
        },
        {
          "word": "tickety-boo"
        },
        {
          "word": "right as rain"
        },
        {
          "word": "hunky-dory"
        },
        {
          "word": "hunkydory"
        },
        {
          "word": "hunkidory"
        },
        {
          "word": "hunky dorey"
        },
        {
          "word": "hunky-dorey"
        },
        {
          "word": "hunkydorey"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "hŭng'kidôʹri",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌhʌŋkiˈdɔːɹi/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-hunky-dory.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/0f/En-us-hunky-dory.ogg/En-us-hunky-dory.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/En-us-hunky-dory.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "hunky dory"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "American English, 1860s. From hunky (“in good condition”, “safe and sound”) + dory (origin and meaning unknown).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more hunky dory",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most hunky dory",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "hunky dory (comparative more hunky dory, superlative most hunky dory)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English adjectives",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English informal terms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Now that I’ve found my missing book, everything’s hunky-dory again.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1880 January 6, Mrs. Frank McCarthy, “How Aunt Pam Became a Smuggler”, in Harper's Young People:",
          "text": "It was no easy job, I can tell you. We worked like beavers to get the cave the way we wanted it; but when it was done, it was what you may call hunky-dory.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1913 October, Jack London, The Valley of the Moon, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC:",
          "text": "But you just go on lovin' him, and leanin' on his judgement—he's no fool—and you'll be all hunky-dory.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1922, Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, →OCLC:",
          "text": "But you seem to be feeling all hunky-dory again, and why don’t you come join us in the Good Citizens’ League, old man?",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 September 29, Carl Zimmer, “A New Approach to Spotting Tumors: Look for Their Microbes”, in The New York Times:",
          "text": "“OK, it’s associated with a specific tumor type, but does that just mean that it’s living hunky-dory with the tumor, or is it actually causing the tumor to get bigger and progress?” Dr. Galloway-Peña asked. “You just don’t know at this point.”",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 May 28, James Tapper, quoting woman approaching middle age, “‘We should be closer to Europe’: Brexit regrets simmer in leave-voting Boston”, in The Observer, →ISSN:",
          "text": "“There’s always got to be a period of adjustment. You can’t expect everything to be hunky dory straight away. I don’t disagree with it [Brexit]^([sic]) but we need to get in charge and sweep out the political class.”",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Satisfactory, fine."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Satisfactory",
          "satisfactory"
        ],
        [
          "fine",
          "fine"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal) Satisfactory, fine."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "alright"
        },
        {
          "word": "fine"
        },
        {
          "word": "tickety-boo"
        },
        {
          "word": "right as rain"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "hŭng'kidôʹri",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌhʌŋkiˈdɔːɹi/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-hunky-dory.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/0f/En-us-hunky-dory.ogg/En-us-hunky-dory.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/En-us-hunky-dory.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "hunky-dory"
    },
    {
      "word": "hunkydory"
    },
    {
      "word": "hunkidory"
    },
    {
      "word": "hunky dorey"
    },
    {
      "word": "hunky-dorey"
    },
    {
      "word": "hunkydorey"
    }
  ],
  "word": "hunky dory"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-11-21 using wiktextract (95d2be1 and 64224ec). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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